Raiders rout Commodores, stay perfect in Panhandle

Wednesday

PANAMA CITY — Wednesday’s meeting between No. 4 Northwest Florida State and Gulf Coast pitted the Panhandle Conference’s first and last place teams against each other.

That fact was probably evident to anyone watching the Raiders’ 91-67 victory over the Commodores at the Billy Harrison Field House, even someone who didn’t have access to the Panhandle standings.

Northwest Florida State (24-2) picked up its 10th conference win without a loss and it might have been its easiest yet, as the Raiders knocked in 11 3-pointers and led by as many as 41 points.

Gulf Coast fell below the .500 mark for the season at 13-14 and is now 1-9 in the Panhandle Conference.

Chris Duarte led Northwest Florida State with 19 points, followed by Noah Morgan with 17, Eric Vila with 11, and Javion Hamlet with 10. KK Godwin was the top scorer for the Commodores with 18 points, with Maurice Gordon adding 16 points, Cameron Holden 12, and Jacolbey Owens 11.

The Raiders hit eight threes in a 53-point first half, with Morgan connecting on four triples himself, including one from the left corner at the first half buzzer to put Northwest up by 27 points.

Northwest continued to pour it on in the second half, as Duarte opened things up with a one-handed dunk on the break, and Tyrie Jackson and Vila added transition dunks of their own to make it 62-32 just over three minutes in.

An 11-0 run starting with a layup by Duarte off of a Gulf Coast turnover and capped with a one-handed tomahawk dunk by Jackson extended the Raiders’ advantage to 75-34 with 11:11 remaining.

Gulf Coast will next play at Pensacola State on Saturday before wrapping up the regular season Feb. 23 at home against Chipola. Northwest Florida State hosts Chipola on Saturday and can complete a perfect conference season with a win and another victory Feb. 20 at Tallahassee.